


Deeper

by Lotus_Dumplings



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/F, Human x Mermaid, MerMay, Merpeople, Royalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 09:44:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18892102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lotus_Dumplings/pseuds/Lotus_Dumplings
Summary: It pressed its clawed hands against cold glass. Hesitating only a moment, Erika returned the gesture. A spark seemed to jump through her, and she gasped.She could feel it. She could feel its pain and sadness in the deepest corners of her heart. But she leaned closer. She sunk deeper. She wanted to know everything it was.





	Deeper

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rhythmickorbit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhythmickorbit/gifts).



> My part of a fic exchange with Vee! I stan. My prompt was deep.

It sat behind layers of glass, hair floating in the water and eyes trained on the floor. Erika looked on with wide eyes. She could only guess what it was and only pray she was wrong. 

It had royal blue scales running up its back, silver ones along its arms and down its front, and scarlet ones covering its tail. It had long, sharp claws (which were probably the cause of all those scratches along the sides of its cage) and long silver hair. It was nothing like she'd ever seen. 

"What is this, my Lord?" Erika asked. She already knew the answer.

"A mermaid," Duke Edelstein answered. "I had it caught specifically for you, Lili." She flinched at that name. The name that wasn't her own. 

She gulped. "For me?" 

"Yes," he nodded. "For you." 

She tried to stop herself from trembling. The lifeless look of the creature before her shook her to her core. Bile began to rise in her throat. 

She smiled at the Duke nonetheless. "Thank you." 

 

Erika was, perhaps, too smart for her own good. She wasn't raised on book smarts and politics, however. She wasn't the little Duchess she was supposed to be when her new family adopted her. No, she was smart in other ways. Unlike other royals, she knew about life. 

Her brother—not in blood, but that didn't matter when you were dying of starvation and needed the company—had taught her everything she knew. He taught her about the hierarchy and the aristocrats, he taught her how to make her own decision and fight for herself, but most importantly, he taught her to care about others. 

He wouldn't have tolerated caging a living being like this, and she shouldn't either. But she had no choice, lest she risk angering those which kept her alive. She felt terrible. Like a selfish coward who cared more about her own life than the mermaid's suffering.

She treated it best she could. She left food in the tank, though it never ate when she was in the room. It mostly floated aimlessly, its iridescent scales shining in the light. One night, however, it did something unexpected. It became to make soft sounds, almost like cries. 

Erika felt her heart shatter. 

"Dearest, what shall you name it?" Lady Elizabeth asked her. She lied, saying she was still deciding. But she knew the pain that came with being called the wrong name. She wouldn't do that to the creature.

Despite her distaste in its living conditions, she had to admit that the mermaid was quote magnificent. Definitely a sight to behold. When she retreated to her room, she found herself being lost in its ethereal beauty. A feeling she couldn't place began to rise in her gut, until she realized how wrong it all was, and it turned bitter. 

That's when she started talking to it. She spoke of her music studies and her favorite books and what it would be having for dinner and life around the castle. It didn't react beyond glancing upward a little, but Erika knew it heard her. She smiled sadly. It was trapped here, the least she could do was keep it company. 

Later on, she spoke of things she probably shouldn't have. She told it about the Duke and the Duchess's affair with Knight Beilschmidt (something they had tried to keep from her, but she was always too aware for that) and of the poor way of life outside of the castle. She confided in the mermaid, who listened without judgment. And that's why she told it about her brother.

She spoke of his teachings and kindness, she told stories of his sacrifices for her, and she recounted his last moments. Her voice shook, but she continued. He would die to keep her alive, and he did. Someone needed to know how much of a hero he was. 

A soft coo broke her thoughts. Her eyes—red with tears, though she didn't know when she had started crying—widen. It was looking at her. It was looking right at her with glassy blue eyes coated in confusion. It crooked its head, as if to ask, _Why are you sad?_ Erika almost laughed. It deserved to cry more than her. 

It pressed its clawed hands against cold glass. Hesitating only a moment, Erika returned the gesture. A spark seemed to jump through her, and she gasped. 

She could feel it. She could feel its pain and sadness in the deepest corners of her heart. But she leaned closer. She sunk deeper. She wanted to know everything it was. It choked out a sound, maybe a sob, before pulling away. She blinked, returning to Earth.

Erika couldn't do this anymore. 

With her feet bare and wearing nothing but a nightgown, she unlatched the top of its glass cage. It looked at her through rippling water, and she had to stop herself from getting lost in its eyes. She reached out to pick it up, and to her surprise, it complied. 

It was less thin than when it first arrived. Less frail and less fragile. Erika was, as well, but the muscle she had gained on the streets had almost completely diminished. She tried her best, nonetheless. 

Creeping through the castle without alerting a guard was hard, but Erika chose this night for a reason. The top knight wouldn't be on duty. Once she was outside, she slipped through the gate as silent as she could. 

Once a safe distance away, she broke into a sprint. She wasn't built for it, but that didn't matter. The shore was so close, she couldn't stop now. 

Closer, closer, _closer_. Her breathing became heavy as her heart pounded against her chest like the waves crashing against land. She was so close. 

She placed the mermaid in the water as delicately as possible. She ignored the slamming in her chest and the soreness in her legs, opting instead to smile. Calls began to sound from the castle as lanterns came into view, but she ignored that, too. They weren't calling her name. 

It began to float away, but didn't let go of Erika's arms. Erika exhaled deeply, blindly following along. It didn't matter to her anymore. 

Deep and deeper it dragged her, pulling her into the sea until finally it pulled her under. She couldn't breath. She couldn't see. The water crushed her but the grip on her arms tightened and she leaned in. The ocean was deep, but not as deep as the alluring creature below her. 

Lips pressed delicately against her own and she hummed. Arms wrapped around her shoulders as she wrapped arms around its waist. Erika closed her eyes, letting out her last breath. 


End file.
